Thursday, December 31, 2009

Immanaunt

As you all know, I'm NOTAMOM (see early posts here in the Hygge Hut), but I am most proud that IMMANAUNT!

I am the very delighted aunt of Megan and Allison, aged 19, twin daughters of my step-brother, Scott. I am the aunt, by marriage, to Christine, age 28, and Michael, age 25. I am the excited, fortunate and involved aunt to my 15 year old nephew Jackson and my 17 month old niece McKenna, children of my brother Doug. They live in Long Beach, just two miles away.

This aunt thing is working out pretty great. I get my nephew once a month for a dinner, when he's not playing water polo, and I go to the water polo games to cheer him on when he is. I get all the good stuff and none of the teenage boy stuff. Jackson is a really good kid, with straight A's and a talent in the pool. He's also a 15 year old boy.

I've been trying to get my niece McKenna once a week or so to play the auntie. We're working on dancing with Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video and any "So You Think You Can Dance" stuff on the DVR, as well as watching part of "Finding Nemo" everytime she's over. She loves the jumping Pixar light that comes on screen before the movie starts. You know the one. Boing! Boing! Boing! She's also quite good at wrapping my heart around her finger.

Jackson will know and remember me, but I worry about McKenna. I'll be 53 soon and she'll be 18 months when I hit that age. I need to keep working on creating memories for her so they will stick and so she will always think of her Aunt Katie with happy thoughts, long after I'm gone. Not to be morbid, but I'll be pretty old when she graduates from college - and I plan to be there, by the way.

I want her to think of me when Jackson has kids, even with kids of her own, and she gets to say "IMMANAUNT, just like Aunt Katie, and aren't I lucky"?